How To Staircase
Buying More of Your Home Over Time
As a Shared Owner, you can buy additional shares in your home over time. This process is known as staircasing. In most cases, you can staircase all the way to 100% ownership, unless your property has a rural restriction, which may limit ownership to 80% to preserve affordable housing in protected areas. Once you have purchased 100%, the property freehold would be transferred to you.
Staircasing allows you to increase your ownership gradually as your financial situation improves. This means you can become a full homeowner at a pace that suits you.
How Staircasing Works
Your shared ownership lease outlines the increments you can buy:
- Older leases: 10% or 25% increments
- New leases (2025 onwards): 5% increments, plus 1% per year for the first 15 years
- Once you reach 100% ownership, the freehold is usually transferred to you
Staircasing FAQs
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- Contact our Development department to express your interest in staircasing
- Send a written confirmation (email or letter) stating you would like to proceed with staircasing
- We’ll send you a step by step guide explaining the process
- We’ll arrange a valuation by an RICS approved surveyor to determine the open market value
- Any home improvements you’ve made should be declared. You will need to advise Cornerstone about any improvements you have made to your home so that the valuer can note them and deduct them from the final valuation figure.
- Email: development@cornerstonehousing.net
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We recommend that you speak with an independent financial advisor to ensure you have sufficient additional funds or income available to purchase further shares. They can help you understand if staircasing makes financial sense for your situation and whether you can afford the additional mortgage or costs involved.
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There are costs involved in the staircasing process. These include:
- Staircasing Administration fee: This goes towards the cost of obtaining a staircasing valuation and our administration time – £250
- Your own solicitors’ fees
- RICS surveyor valuation fee (arranged by us, paid by you)
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Stamp duty is not mandatory until you have bought 80% or more of the property, but you can opt to pay it for the whole house at the initial purchase. This could have advantages if your intention is to buy the whole property in the future. We recommend discussing the pros and cons with your solicitor.
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Once you confirm you want to proceed:
- You’ll need to instruct a solicitor
- We’ll appoint our own solicitor to complete the transaction
- Your solicitor will handle the legal work and liaise with our solicitor
- Once everything is complete, your new ownership percentage will be confirmed and your rent will be adjusted
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- If you partially staircase, your rent will reduce in line with your new share
- If you reach 100% ownership, you’ll stop paying rent and usually receive the freehold (depending on property)
- You’ll still pay service charges for communal areas (payable directly to the management company)
- Once you own 100%, you’ll need to arrange your own buildings insurance